


Shooting Star

by Pan_demo_nium



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Mother of all slow burns, Season 9 AU, human!Gabriel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-05-20 20:42:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14901639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pan_demo_nium/pseuds/Pan_demo_nium
Summary: Be careful what you wish for.Human!Gabriel x Reader





	1. Chapter One

The tingle on the back of your neck. The burn of eyes on your spine, the sensation that makes you look repeatedly over your shoulder. The longer and longer that nothing happens the more intense your feeling of dread becomes.

You had been searching in those woods for most of the day now, and the longer you were in there the more you hated the birdsong, the rushing waters, the branches swaying in the wind, all of it. The farther the sun slipped down in the west the more desperate you became.

And there was still no sign of your roommate or her hiking group. Frustrated you kicked out at a tree, and immediately regretted it. You sighed and sat down to take a short water rest before continuing on.

Your roommate had gone on a hiking trip the previous day, with her boyfriend and a couple other mutual friends. They had invited you to join, but you had politely declined not wanting the be the third wheel for both couples. Cara was supposed to be back last night. She hadn’t shown. 

You paused in your tracks, listening intently. The woods had gone silent, no birdsong, nor the ever-present sound of crickets. Even the sounds of the river seemed distant and muted. The entire forest seemed to be holding its breath.

A branch snapped.

You spun around, trying to pinpoint the noise. You pulled your backpack off, digging desperately around for your flashlight, as the sunlight was all but gone. Your hand closed around it and you yanked it out, fumbling with the switch and swung the beam all around you.

“Jason?” You called out shakily “Cara? Ben? Is that you?” Silence surrounded you once more and you couldn’t detect any movement. “It’s me, Y/N” Nothing. “Benjamin Michael Christenson, I swear to God if this is some sick joke…” You trailed off as you heard something in the distance. You froze, listening intently.

Indistinct voices. That one could’ve been Jason’s if you had to guess and…Yes! That was Cara’s distinctive laugh. Your face broke into a relieved grin and you sped up, almost running toward the voices.

They grew louder the further into the forest you got. You still couldn’t quite make out what exactly they were saying, but you were positive it was them. They grew so loud that you were almost on top of them. You burst into a clearing and your heart almost stopped.

Your friend’s hiking gear lay scattered on the forest floor. Their backpacks had been ripped to shreds, the contents strewn everywhere. You held back a sob as you searched the rubble, looking for any clue as to what had happened. Your flashlight fell upon a canister of pepper spray and you grabbed it, nearly dropping it in shock as your flashlight beam lit up the surrounding area. There was blood everywhere.

“Jason,” You said, voice serval octaves higher than usual. “Lily…Cara…Ben” The sun had not completely gone leaving you with only the small flashlight to see by. “It’s me Y/N. Where-” You were cut off by a woman’s scream. This time the sound was clear and very close by. “Hello?” You cried out “Who’s there?”

“Help us!” The women sobbed and you almost cried with relief, as you recognized your roommate’s voice.

“Cara?” You shouted, “Cara, where are you?” The distinct smell of rotting meat hit you and you gagged.

“It’s me” Came the reply. “It’s me. Oh god, somebody helps us!”

“I’m here,” You said frantically trying to pinpoint her voice. “It’s me, Y/N. Cara, where are you?”

“I’m here”

“But where?” You said desperately. “I can’t find you”

“It’s me. I’m here”

“I-” You froze. That voice…

“I’m here. It’s me Y/N”

It was yours.

And it was now directly behind you. You turned slowly, the flashlight slipped from your hand, and your mouth opened in a silent scream.

This Thing towered over you, double your height, with arms that reached the ground ending in sharp claws. It was pale white, bone thin, its eyes reflected the small beam of light. It grinned at you, revealing a mouthful of jagged teeth that were stained with blood.

You had never really been the religious type, but you sent out a desperate prayer to God, to anyone who might be listening. “Help me please” You whispered, tears spilling down your face. “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die! Oh God please help me!” 

The Thing’s grin only widened, it stretched out a hand and traced a claw down your cheek. You flinched, stumbling back and you raised the pepper spray. “Don’t” You squealed “I’ve armed” It reached out again, and you prepared to spray the Monster, but then it froze. It tilted its head towards the sky and then a split second later bolted back into the heart of the forest.

Confused you looked up and saw what had driven it away.

You had heard of shooting stars, but you were pretty sure that they were never this close to earth. You scrambled back and a moment later the comet had hit right where you and the Monster had been standing only seconds before. You retrieved your flashlight, gripping the pepper spray tight, and approached the crater left behind by the impact.

What you saw when the dust cleared only confused you more.

It was a man. He was unconscious, his arm was twisted at an odd angle and he had several bruises. You cautiously approached him. There were strange imprints on the ground around him, like wings, only wrong, broken somehow.

You knelt down beside him, brushing his hair out of his face and felt for his pulse. It was faint, barely there at all. He was miraculously still alive, but only just. You reached for your phone but only found an empty pocket. Swearing, you searched around the clearing but it was nowhere to be found.

You went back to the man, hoping against hope that his phone had somehow survived…whatever he had. You reached into his pockets when he gasped, sitting straight up, his eyes glowing golden. You jumped back and stared at him open-mouthed as he got unsteadily to his feet. He turned taking in his surroundings when his gaze fell on you, taking in your shocked tear-stained face.

“Fear…fear not” He slurred taking a shaky step toward you. “I am Gabriel and I bring…I stand…I-” He swayed, the glow in his eyes went out and he collapsed to the ground once more.


	2. Chapter Two

It took a second to catch your breath and slow your heart. Your head throbbed and your body ached. For a while, you could do nothing but stare at the crumpled figure.

‘Fear not.’ The Man had said ‘I am Gabriel’ Those words, bringing back distant memories of long ago sermons, coupled with the strange feather-like markings on the ground, and his crash landing, had you guessing at what you might be dealing with.

The implications of that guess made you shiver, and the sheer impossibility of the whole night made you want to run far away from this forest, from the monster that lived in it, and from the Man that fell from the sky like a shooting star.

But you couldn’t just leave him here alone and hurt. Swallowing your fear, you approached the Man- Gabriel and hesitantly knelt beside him. His face and neck were colored with bruises and his left arm was sprained if not broken. You eased him onto his back, clearing the dirt and pine needles from his face and clothes.

At his best, he would look fairly normal. Good looking certainly, you thought absently brushing his hair out of his eyes, but human. Right now, he looked small and vulnerable. Nothing to suggest anything paranormal. Except… 

You remembered the ball of light streaking towards you, hitting the ground at a force no human could survive. You remembered his eyes radiating an unearthly light and you shivered again.

An owl hooted and you almost jumped out of your skin. Whatever spell the Monster had cast over the forest had ended, and the sounds of life were returning. You hated to leave your friends behind (if they were even still alive) but you had no chance against that Thing alone and defenseless. 

You shook him gently. “Hey” You whispered, “Hey, wake up, we have to leave.” No response. You shook him a little harder, wary of his injured arm. “C’mon” You urged “There’s something…evil here and I can’t carry you, you have to wake up.” Nothing. “Please” You hesitated “Please…Gabriel”

A sharp intake of breath and his eyes shot open. You started, flinching back. His eyes were no longer glowing, and he looked confused. “What…who-” Gabriel tried to stand but gave a cry of pain and cradled his injured arm.

“C’mon,” you said urgently and tried to help him to his feet but he shied away from you. “Oh, we don’t have time for this” You moaned

“I won’t hurt you” You coaxed, edging slowly toward him. “C’mon, we have to leave, we’re not safe here.” This seemed to rouse him and you managed to help him up. Draping his good arm over your shoulder, you helped him walk.

Gabriel was didn’t speak anymore, he seemed to fade in an out of consciousness. You didn’t notice, for the most part, your attention was focused on getting out of the forest as quickly as you could. You kept your ears out for any screams, disembodied voices or the unnatural quiet that forewarned the Creatures presence. Every snapped branch put you on high alert and you clutched the pepper spray tighter and tighter.

After hours of hiking in the cold night air, you finally made it to your car, exhausted. You helped Gabriel into the passenger side of the car and he almost immediately passed out, curling up into a ball.

You walked around to the driver side and caught sight of a banged-up van parked nearby. Your heart clenched. You leaned against the side of your car, feeling tears on your cheeks and the sobs that you had suppressed earlier rise to the surface. 

That was Ben’s van. Your roommate’s boyfriend. You hadn’t been particularly close with Cara, and Ben, with his weird sense of humor, loved to play jokes on you, but they had been good people. Lisa and Jason too, they hadn’t deserved this. You remembered their hiking hear torn to shreds and the blood dripping off the Monsters jagged teeth. You remembered the phantom screams in the forest and wondered if that was the last time you’d ever hear your roommates voice.

Steeling yourself you wiped the tears from your eyes and got into your car. You drove off towards your home and forced yourself not to look back, fearing you’d see the Creature looking back at you. ‘I’ll come back for you Cara’ You promised, wiping the last of your tears away. ‘I’ll come back for you all.’

It was one in the morning when you left the forest, and almost two when you finally made it home to your apartment. Gabriel had slept the whole way, muttering things occasionally, but never in English. He was still sleeping when you got home, and nothing you could do or say could wake him up this time. Thankfully you lived on the ground floor, so it was only a short walk to your apartment.

You deposited him on your couch, unable to move him further. You collapsed in the armchair opposite and stared at him, as you tried to decide what to do. You had already ruled out calling the police or the park rangers. No one would believe a hysterical woman going on about some Monster ripping apart her friends.

And as for Gabriel…You had decided against taking him to the hospital. Him falling out of the sky was another story you couldn’t explain and somehow you knew deep down that that was a bad idea.

The simple fact was that you had no idea what to do.

You stressed about this for hours, but you must have fallen asleep at some point because you woke to find yourself curled up in the armchair with the sun coming in through the window and Gabriel staring at you.

You jumped a little. His gaze was nothing like the one he had last night. Now it was focused and piercing. “Oh! Hello!” You said nervously, jumping to a standing position. “Um, I’m Y/N.” He said nothing. “Your name is Gabriel” You babbled, “You told me last night when you fell out of the sky” You gave a nervous laugh “Because you know, you did that…fall out of the sky I mean, um…yeah.” You faltered under his unblinking gaze and you both sat in uncomfortable since for a few minutes.

“Are you an Angel?” You blurted out suddenly and almost immediacy regretted it. He looked shocked for the briefest of seconds before a cool guarded expression replaced it.

“What,” He said finally “gave you that idea?”


	3. Chapter 3

The mood in the room shifted, you suddenly felt afraid of this strange being that you had brought into your house. You shivered under his piercing gaze, feeling very small.

“You fell from the sky” You repeated, your voice shaking slightly. “You fell out of the sky on a ball of fire, and you lived. You told me your name was Gabriel and you told me not to be afraid” He took a sharp intake of breath and you jumped. His amber eyes were burning holes into yours.

“I don’t remember that,” he said quietly. You frowned.

“You don’t remember…? Your eyes were glowing, the wing prints on the ground…you scared away the monster, you saved my life…” Gabriel was frowning too now.

“Monster?”

“The walk through the forest, the drive home…You don’t remember any of that?”

“Bits and pieces of the forest” Gabriel admitted slowly “There was a car…I remembered you”

You felt a flush creep up your cheeks and hastily replied “Well that’s not surprising, you were half asleep for the walk and you were completely out when you got in my car” You laughed nervously “I didn’t know angels could sleep.”

Gabriel’s face darkened. “We don’t,” he said shortly.

There was an uncomfortable silence that stretched for several minutes before you spoke again.

“So…you are an angel”

“No”

“But you said-”

“I was an angel,” Gabriel said, his words saturated with bitterness. “Recently I seem to have fallen from grace.” He shifted his injured arm and winced with pain.

“…What’s the last thing you remember?” You asked, hesitantly “Aside from last night, I mean.”

A pained expression crossed Gabriel’s face briefly before he composed himself. “Doesn’t matter?” He said smoothly “It’s…. that was a long time ago…” Gabriel frowned “I think…what year is it?”

“2013”

Gabriel nodded. “Four years,” he said absently. He stood up abruptly. “Right, I need to go”

You blinked. “What! You can’t!” He looked at you coolly.

“Look, sweetheart, I appreciate the rescue and all, but I have things to do, people to see, enemies to slay.” He gave you a sardonic smile. “You understand, I’m sure”

“You-you just fell out of the sky last night!” Gabriel raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘So?’

You floundered around for a second trying to find the words. “You can’t just…up and leave. That arm is sprained if not broken. You’re human now. You need to eat and sleep and stuff. Do you have money?” You paused, “Do you even know where you are?”

Gabriel’s face had grown increasingly frustrated as you spoke. “So where are we then?” he said petulantly

You hesitated for a second. “Summerset, South Dakota…where-where would you go?” Gabriel was growing cagier by the second.

“…The Winchesters.” he muttered “They can help me”

“…Do you know where they are?”

“…no”

“Do you know their phone number?”

“…no”

You blew out air in exasperation. “Do you have any way of contacting them?”

“No” he repeated sullenly. You suddenly felt bad for Gabriel, the man…angel…being was looking more and more like a cornered animal.

“What about other angels,” You asked hesitantly “Can’t they help you?”

The dark look he gave you was answer enough, and you decided not to press the subject. There was another long silence and after a while, it became clear that he wasn’t going to leave or continue the conversation.

“Alright,” You said with a confidence you didn’t feel. “Why don’t we eat”

“M’not hungry” Gabriel grumbled but followed you into your small kitchen anyways.

For a being that didn’t need to eat, Gabriel managed to pack away six bowls of fruit loops, three pieces of toast and jam, and a cup of coffee. 

“You’re going to make yourself sick” you warned as he stirred cream into his coffee. He ignored this, stirring three more tablespoons of sugar into the drink. You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your own coffee before yelping in fright as something brushed past your leg. You looked down to see a bundle of black fur.

“Oh, shit” you groaned.

Gabriel looked up from his food. “What’s wrong,” he asked between mouthfuls of toast.

“This is Marshmallow,” You said, picking up her up. “Its Cara’s cat. Cara - she’s my roommate. I think she’s-” You broke off trying to blink away tears. “I was supposed to watch Marshmallow while she was out hiking, but she never came back and I think she was eaten by the monster”

“This is the same monster I-”

“The one you scared away, yeah,” you said wiping your eyes. “That’s why I was out there so late, Cara never came back so I went to look for her. I found her stuff all torn and scattered, and I kept hearing her voice, and then I turned and It was there grinning at me” Your voice cracked, and you looked Gabriel in the eyes. “I thought I was gonna die, so I prayed and then you fell out of the sky and I thought…”

“You thought Pops had sent me to save you,” Gabriel said. He gave you dry smile. “Well sorry to break it to you sugar, but dear old Dad isn’t really saving type. Or the answering prayers type for that matter. Not anymore.”

“Not even yours?” you asked curiously.

“So, what did this thing look like?” Gabriel asked loudly “Short, tall, furry, covered in scales…?”

“Um, it was at least 8 feet tall, and pale white.” You said, trying to remember. “Bone thin, it had jagged teeth, they were bloody.” You shivered.

Gabriel looked thoughtful. “And you said it could mimic voices?” You nodded “South Dakota” he mused “Could be a wendigo”

“A what?”

“A wendigo, basically a human corrupted and twisted into a monster that preys on other humans.”

You squeezed your eyes shut. “So, she’s dead then. Cara, Ben, Lisa, Jason…they’re all dead…” You swallowed hard trying to keep from completely breaking down.

“Maybe,” Gabriel said, watching you closely “Wendigos do sometimes store live prey, especially if they’re hibernating…What?”

You had locked eyes with, the beginnings of a desperate plan forming. “Help me save them” you breathed.

“Come again?”

“You know what that thing is, you can help me save them” Gabriel open his mouth to speak but you cut him off. “I’ll help you find the Winchesters,” You said firmly “If you help me, I’ll help you find them. We’ll knock on every door in the country if we have to”

Gabriel stared at you for five agonizingly long seconds before a smile tugged at his lips. “Deal,” he said smoothly.


	4. Chapter Four

The apartment was chilly and you shivered as you made your way down the dark hallway. Something was off. You couldn’t pinpoint anything, it was just something in the atmosphere that seemed to emit wrongness. 

You were on edge as you padded quietly into the living room and cursed as you noticed the empty pile of blankets on the couch, where Gabriel had been sleeping.

“Gabriel?” You whispered. When there was no answer, you made your way over, but froze, when a cool breeze dance across your face. You turned and the window was open. Stepping closer you realized with horror that not only was the screen gone, it looked like it had been torn out of the frame.

“I can see you” The whisper was so quiet you could barely make it out, but the words made your blood run cold.

It was Cara’s voice.

You swallowed hard, not daring to look behind you and once again come face to face with the Monster.

“I can see you” Ben’s voice, and it was louder and closer this time. You could feel tears leaking from your eyes.

“Gabriel?” You called again, unsure if he was still in the building. You had a sickening thought that perhaps the former angle had suffered the same fate as your roommate.

“I can see you” You could now feel its hot breath on the back of your neck. You flinched as a drop of liquid hit the top of your head. This thing was drooling on you.

“Y/N” The Thing was now using Gabriel’s voice. “Y/N!” Even though your terror, you felt a flicker of confusion. Why was its tone so urgent? “Y/N, wake up!”

Your eyes shot open to find Gabriel’s face inches from your own. His head snapped back just in time to avoid the fist that had shot out at him. “Sorry!” You breathed, cursing internally.

“Bad dream, I take it,” Gabriel said dryly, eyeing your hands warily as he stood up. “You starting crying and…you kept calling my name.”

You felt your face heat up, and you quietly wiped the wetness off your face. “Yeah” You muttered. “I… yeah bad dream” You looked up at him. “I didn’t wake you, did I”

He shook his head. “I can make tea or coffee if you want?”

“Oh no, that’s all right,” You said quickly trying to rise from the armchair where you had apparently fallen asleep. Gabriel’s attempts to make food the previous day had been…interesting.

As if guessing your thoughts, the angels face darkened. “I think I can manage to boil some water,” he said flatly before disappearing into the little kitchen.

“Coffee’s fine,” You said lamely after a few seconds, deciding not to fight it. Gabriel’s new human status was a sore topic and any kind of reminder of it made him irritable. Besides, coffee was hard to burn.

Yawning, you stretched your legs, wincing as you felt the inevitable rush of pins and needles. Your left hand cramped, and you lifted it to find it gripping your new flare gun so tightly, you had almost lost circulation.

Yesterday, after you had struck your deal, the two of you had gone to Cara’s favorite sporting goods store. The small shop mostly catered to the tourists and locals that loved to explore the local state forest. You had hardly ever visited, but that didn’t stop the Manager from giving a warm welcome.

“Y/N” He called “You finally decide to join Ms. Radley out in the woods?” You gave a polite smile but groaned internally. One of the only things you couldn’t stand about your roommate is that she constantly tried to get you out hiking and camping with her, and the few times you had visited this store had been her way of trying to coerce you into going.

“Actually Mr. Stewart, I’m going looking for her,” You said, “Cara was supposed to be back the day before yesterday and she’s still gone.”

The mans beaming smile vanished, replaced with a concerned look. “Have you called the police.”

“Oh no, that’s not really necessary,” You said abruptly, making him frown. You tried to backtrack “I mean, she and the guys probably just lost track of time out there, you know how they are” You tried to give him a reassuring smile but Mr. Steward didn’t look convinced. You pulled on Gabriel’s good arm, guiding him over to your side. “Me and my…cousin are just gonna go find and drag her back to civilization.”

He seemed somewhat mollified by this, and you both darted away. You began filling up the cart with everything that seemed even remotely helpful. You got a couple lanterns and a shit ton of flashlight and batteries. You reached the guns, but Gabriel guided you away.

“That’s not going to anything other than piss it off” He murmured in your ear. “What we need is fire”

You had come home late in the day, and although you wanted to start the search as soon as possible, Gabriel had insisted on waiting until daylight hours.

You jumped as Gabriel appeared in front of you once more. You took the offered cup of coffee with muttered thanks and resisted the urge to make sure your kitchen was still intact. You sipped at the hot beverage and studied the angel who had settled on the couch opposite. He was staring into space again, his face scrunched slightly as if trying to remember something. He had that face a lot. Most times when Gabriel wasn’t actively talking to you, it would settle over him, and he would look a thousand miles away. You had tried to ask him about it, but it quickly became abundantly clear that he wasn’t the sharing type. Gabriel’s head turned and you flicked your gaze away. You could feel his eyes on you and you tried to stop your cheeks from flushing again.

When the sky had finally begun to lighten, you excused yourself to get dressed and returned to find him waiting for you.

“Ready?” Gabriel asked.

You let out a snort. “Fuck no”

Gabriel laughed, and he gave you the first genuine smile you had seen from him. He held out the crook of his good arm. “Shall we then?”


	5. Chapter Five

Your smiles had both faded within the first five minutes of the trip. It became abundantly clear that Gabriel intensely disliked riding in the car. It seemed impossible for him to stay still, he squirmed in his seat, tapping his fingers on the windows and his gaze kept wandering back to the clock on your dash.

You, on the other hand, would’ve been happy if this car trip never ended. The closer you got to those woods, the tighter the knot in your stomach got. Images of the monster swam unbidden into your mind: It’s haunting, twisted grin as it loomed over you in the forest, the achingly familiar voices spilling out of its mouth, teeth dripping with blood, it glowing eyes pricing the darkness of your own living room-

“How much longer?” Gabriel asked suddenly, and you started, jerking the steering wheel to the right, before slamming on the breaks. The ex-angel swore as he was jolted forward, his seatbelt locking. Shutting your eyes and swallowing hard, you tried to slow your heart and your breathing, trying to avoid a full-on panic attack. You felt like throwing up.

Your eyes darted towards the clock. “Still about 35 minutes to go” You croaked. Gabriel nodded, but his gaze didn’t leave you.

“You okay, cupcake?”

“I’m fine,” you said tightly, as the car began to move forward again.

“Y/N-”

“I’m fine, Gabriel” He fell silent, and neither of you spoke again for the rest of the car trip.

The second you parked, Gabriel all but jumped out, slamming the door behind him. You slowly got out and was met with the smell of rain. While it had been sunny at your apartment, here it was overcast with dark grey clouds. The wind howled and whipped at your coats as the two of you unloaded your car, and geared up.

Nobody else was insane enough to go hiking in weather like this, so the only other car besides yours was Ben’s old beat up van, looking dirty and forlorn in the grey light. As you stepped onto the trail, you resisted looking back at the two cars sitting side by side in the otherwise empty lot and promised yourself that you would be back.

You led the way, Gabriel following close behind. The plan was to backtrack to the clearing to where your friends had been taken, and then Gabriel would take over, and track the creature back to its lair. After that, the plan was hazy at best since neither of you knew whether the Wendigo would be there or not and how bad a shape your friends were in.

If they were even still alive.

You shook your head, berating yourself. Those thoughts would get you nothing but more worry and stress.

You reached the clearing and blinked back tears as you stepped over the torn and bloody backpacks. Strangely the imprint Gabriel had left when crashing to earth still remained untouched. You hadn’t really paid it much attention that night, but now you could see the markings of three sets of wings in the ground, only disturbed by your struggle two nights ago to revive the fallen angel.

You glanced at Gabriel, trying to gauge his reaction, but he ignored both you and the markings of the ground and strode ahead to take the lead, following some trail that you couldn’t discern. 

The silence was becoming oppressive, you jumped every time a twig snapped, or when you saw movement.

“Soo,” You said, in an attempt to distract yourself. “These friends of yours…will they are looking for you?”

Gabriel gave a derisive snort “Friends is putting it a bit strongly.” He said wryly. “Considering they did try to kill me. More than once”

“Um, why?”

He ignored that. “And no, they won’t be looking for me.”

“So, why go to them?” You asked after a long silence. “Why go to the Winchesters?”

“They owe me one.” Gabriel said coolly “I saved their keisters the last time we met.”

“Which was…?”

Gabriel fell silent again, and you felt your frustration flare. You grabbed his good arm and yanked him around to face you. His eyes blazed with anger and tried to pull away, but you held him in place

“Listen.” You hissed “This is clearly a sore topic and under any other circumstances I would not press you. But clearly something or someone is out to get you, you didn’t just spontaneously fall the earth and become human. Your father is gone, and your own siblings won’t help you, your only option is to find two humans who might not kill you. I said I would help you, but I can’t if you don’t tell me what you remember.”

His gaze bore in you, and for the briefest instant, you saw the angel in him, the last sliver of something ancient and celestial, and you were afraid.

Then he blinked, and the anger was muted, contained. “Fine” He snapped “But not here” He wrenched his arm from your grasp and stomped off.

You stood still for a second in shock, before jogging to catch up with him. After a long while, you tried to speak again.

“Hey, I-”

“Shhhh,” Gabriel said softly “We’re close.

Your words died in your throat, and you looked around anxiously, your hand reaching down to wrap reassuringly around the flare gun holstered at your belt. Was it getting colder? You take a deep breath and almost throw up as putrid odor invades your nose. It was the smell of death and decay, and you once again blink away tears.

Ten minutes later, Gabriel discovered the source of the smell. The two of you stumbled into a clearing. The trees here were so thick and tall that they would block out the sun, even on the brightest of day. Overcast as it was, it was so dark you could hardly make anything out. You switched on your flashlight, an instantly regretted it. You let out a strange, choked sob, and heard Gabriel’s sharp intake of breath.

There were hundreds of them, hanging from tree branches, some still dripping blood, others clearly several days old. There was a multitude of smaller animals, rabbits, and foxes, but you saw several deer carcasses.

Passing the beam of your flashlight around you saw that Gabriel had been right, there were many bodies still moving, still alive.

Including one human.


	6. Chapter Six

You let out a choked cry and rushed forward out of the trees. “Sara-wait!” Gabriel called urgently from behind, trying to catch up. You ignored him, heart racing as you made your way across the clearing toward the struggling body.

They were hanging from a tree, several feet above both the ground and you could hear muffled cries as Ben’s eyes locked on you. He began to sway to and fro, as his movements became more frantic.

“Stop-stop moving…Ben stop moving” You said desperately, trying to think. “Um…”

“Tree,” Gabriel said shortly, jogging up beside you.

“What?”

“Climb the tree”

“Oh-right” You sprinted over to the tree that Ben was hanging from, and began to scale it. Your hands stung as you scraped them against the bark, but you ignored it and kept moving upwards. You reached the branch and began to carefully inch your way across, trying not to look at the ground far below.

Reaching the rope, you began to loosen it, keeping a tight grip on it. Ben’s weight shifted from the tree to you, and you lowered him down as slow as you could until he finally reached Gabriel and the angel gently lowered him the rest of the way to the ground.

Descending the tree, you heard Bens muffled cried become incoherent ramblings as Gabriel removed the gag. Gabriel tried to shush him, but Ben was quickly becoming hysterical.

“Hey-Ben its ok, you’re ok now,” You said soothingly as you hurried over. Ben shook his head.

“No-it’ll come back…it always comes back” He sobbed,

“Ben, we’re gonna leave as soon as we find everyone else. Do you know where they are, Ben?”

Ben pointed a shaking finger towards the right of the clearing “Lisa” he whispered. Gabriel jogged away and you took a deep breath in.

“Alright, where’s Cara and Jason?” Ben shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

“Gone” He croaked.

“Gone?” You echoed, feeling a sharp stab of panic. “What do you mean, gone? Did they get away?” Ben shook his head again, shoulders shaking.

“They wouldn’t stop screaming.” He whispered, “They wouldn’t stop screaming and fighting, so it killed them and ate them.” Ben’s voice rose and became hysterical. “It ate Cara and Jason right in front of us, and we watched! …we watched…” He trailed off into quiet sobs.

You began to shake and stumbled away from him before collapsing at the base of a tree, trying to fight off your own breakdown. Hot tears slipped down your cheeks, and you stifled the urge to scream.

Gabriel came jogging back. “I found Lisa.” He said quietly. “She’s tied up like him” He gestured to Ben. “But she’s in bad shape-”

“Gabriel”

“-We need to leave now, for her sake and for ours. We don’t know when this thing’s gonna come back-”

“Gabriel”

He focused on you for the first time, and tensed, face going pale. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Cara” You whispered “She’s dead…and Jason…It ate them…”

“Sara, I’m so sorry” Gabriel knelt down beside you, cupping your face in his hands. “But I need you to focus, ok? We all need to move now, Lisa not going to make it much longer without a hospital and if your friend doesn’t calm down, he’s going to draw the thing to us.”

Both of you turned to look at Ben. His sobs still rang through the forest but had slumped over onto the ground. You took a deep breath and Gabriel helped you to your feet, and followed him over to were your friend lay.

The closer you got, the stranger Ben’s posture became and you sped up, your dread growing.

“Ben?” you called anxiously, before stopping abruptly. Ben’s neck had been snapped, he was clearly dead. And yet you could still hear his cries… 

Panic bloomed inside you, and you fumbled for the flare gun at your belt, scanning the clearing frantically. You began to call out a warning before something slammed into you from above, knocking you to the ground.

You struggled to inhale, hands still desperately searching for the flare gun, when you were yanked into the air as the Creature stood up. It held you with one long arm, pinning your arms to your sides.

You struggled, trying to free yourself, but you were dizzy and still couldn’t breathe. From somewhere below you, you could hear Gabriel cursing. There were a loud bang and a bright flash, and the world spun as the Wendigo leaped to avoid the flare. Its crushing hold on you loosened slightly, and your head began to clear. You began kicking your legs wildly and in desperation, you bent your head over and bit its arm.

Retching, you jerked back, and the Monster slowed, more confused than hurt, but it was all Gabriel needed. There came another crack and the Wendigo shrieked. You fell hard to the ground, surging forward before It came crashing to the ground itself.

Gabriel was suddenly right beside you, helping you to your feet. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” He demanded,

“M’fine” You panted and gave him a half-hearted grin. “Guess that’s two I owe you”

You left the Wendigo where it had fallen, but carried Ben as far away from the clearing as you could, and placed him at the foot of a tree. It felt wrong to leave him there in the woods, but you couldn’t carry him back and couldn’t leave him in that circle of death.

While Ben had been both aware and alert up in the tree, Lisa was barely conscious, with a badly broken leg, and getting her down from the tree was a much more difficult task. As she couldn’t walk, Gabriel and yourself had to take turns carrying her the long hike down.

Once back at the car, the police were called. Lisa was taken away in an ambulance, and the next few hours were spent being questioned. Rangers were sent out to find the ‘Bear’ and to recover Ben’s body and then finally you were allowed to leave. 

The car ride was silent and when you finally got home, you collapsed onto your couch exhausted. You were dimly aware of Gabriel next to you, and then something brushed by your leg. It was Marshmallow.

The sight of your roommate’s cat sent you over the edge and you began to weep. For Cara and Jason, for Ben who had almost made it out and for Lisa who would never be the same. You felt an arm on your back, then Gabriel was pulling you close.

“I’m sorry” He whispered “I’m sorry, I couldn’t save them” You sniffled and shook your head

“Wasn’t your fault” You mumbled. Gabriel didn’t reply, only pulled you close as you both drifted off to sleep.


End file.
